


Objects in Constant Motion

by Indiana_J



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-26
Updated: 2012-06-26
Packaged: 2017-11-08 14:52:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/444375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Indiana_J/pseuds/Indiana_J
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Even universes apart, the Doctor and Rose are objects in constant motion.  It only seems natural that they'd eventually circle back around to each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Face to Face

**Author's Note:**

> A different take on how Rose and the Doctor could have met back up again.

Back flush to the wall, Rose sucked in a deep breath and forced herself to release it slowly. Where any exposed skin met the metal on the wall, it sucked up the coldness from it and she shivered. She found herself to be at a three-way intersect and from two directions the sound of booted feet running echoed sharply. One of them had been the way she'd come from, the other...

Probably more of the same guards, chasing the fool she'd just saved. She hadn't been able to get a good look at his face as he'd ducked the shot fired from the guard behind him but she figured that the ragged breathing from the corner next to her was from him.

Rose closed her eyes for a second and shook her head, smiling wryly. She'd been on vacation, had come to Darlig Ulv Stranden again just to...just to see, she supposed. It had been five and a half years and she'd decided it really couldn't hurt. Besides, Norway had looked like a grand place to come and visit, memories aside.

That had been before she'd discovered a nearby scientific base had been overrun by aliens attempting to gain control of the technology and research being horded there. Rose had done the intelligent thing and alerted her dad, who had in turn had alerted Rose's team and they were on their way. But even the fastest zeppelin wasn't a TARDIS, or even a jet from her world, and the trip from the UK to Norway was longer than she had time for.

Even the Norway branch still had to scramble and they were at least a few hours outside of her area.

So she'd done the stupid, but necessary, thing – opened the boot of her car, shoved bags and suitcases aside to reveal a hidden bottom and pulled out her weapons. After an hour of surveillance, she'd realized they were probably close to getting their hands (or flippers or tentacles or whatever) on whatever choice piece information would give them an edge on the human race.

Despite Pete's vast misgivings, he'd given her the go-ahead to proceed, under extreme caution and with specific instructions. Avoid detection, avoid a fire fight, and bloody hell, avoid getting hurt.

She'd been spotted fifteen minutes after she'd scaled the fence and busted in through a window (the alarms were already going off, so it hadn't mattered much); twenty minutes and counting later, there'd been a fire fight and one, she thought with some guilt, she'd started. She had, so far, managed to remain unscathed. Rose grinned. Her dad would just have to live with one out of three.

The running guards were getting closer and she instinctively reached around the corner to grasp the hand that waited there, almost as if it had been reaching out for her as well. Another breath but this time she let it out quickly in a gasped "Run!" and then she was pulling the stupid sod forward.

Probably a scientist who'd decided to wander despite the alien invasion or an unlucky bloke who'd not realized...wait a sec, had he said "Run" as well?

Glancing over her shoulder, Rose very nearly tripped over her own feet in shock. It couldn't be.

But the voice, nearly shouting now, shouting rather shrilly "What?!" was his ... the hand gripping hers was his ... the suit was bloody awful but the shoes... "Doctor," she gasped, laughing and nearly crying at the same time. She wanted to turn and punch him and then hug him, maybe punch him again, and then, no maybes about it, snog the life out of him.

But shots were zinging around them and she had to get to the computers and download the virus that Mickey had cooked up on the flight he was on and there was simply no time.

So she ran.

"Rose?" the Doctor said, shaking his head at her. "Oh, this is not good – well it is, because it's you! And me! Which makes an us again! But I knew that hole the TARDIS was sucked into was bad news. End of the universe bad and I've already nearly had one of those, thanks. This'll be worse than almost-Belgium!"

As usual, she really had no idea what he was talking about but she supposed that the whole two universe thing couldn't be good. All the openings had been closed, after all...

"Fuck! The research! Think dad said something 'bout the Norwegians researching something stupid and this base was gonna close, be scrapped 'cause of it!" There was no time to simply bask in the fact that they were together again. Rose squeezed his hand hard and he returned the gesture, shifting his hand so that their fingers entwined together. "Betcha they were tryin' to open it back up again, that's what you fell through."

"It's always the Norwegians," he replied, mournfully, tugging her down another open corridor. She followed his lead and now it was his turn to grin over his shoulder. Despite their situation, his eyes were alight with glee and it eased her own nerves. "How long's it been for you?" he asked.

"Five and a half years. You?"

"Too long."

So much pain in those words and if there was a later, they were going to have a nice sit down.

"Traveling with anyone?" Rose asked, curious.

"Oh, a few here and there..."

"Good. You need looking after, you do." There was pleasure that for however long they'd been separated he'd had someone at his side. After a second, she continued with, "Anyone I'd have liked?"

The Doctor snorted, trying door after door. "Martha Jones and Rose Tyler in the same room, that I'd liked to have seen. After about a month of snark and snide comments, I suppose you would have. Donna's kind of like your mum, so you'd have liked her."

Rose boggled. "You traveled with someone like mum?" she repeated, barking out a laugh. "Can't wait to tell her that." Now they were in a corridor she recognized and they switched leaders with Rose in front. "Control room, gotta set up a virus that Mickey sent me," she explained.

"How's the old boy?" he asked, almost but not quite making it sound like he was asking about his favorite puppy.

Catching up while running for their lives. It was like old times.

"He and Jake are together," Rose replied, giggling at the noises that the Doctor made, all of them amused and none of them really surprised. "His gran just passed, though, such a shame. Lovely woman."

They slammed into each other when Rose hit the brakes, trying the door to the control room. Locked and she had no idea what the pass code was ... as she reached to unsnap her sidearm from the holster to shoot the lock, a familiar buzzing sound went off in her ear and her eyes snapped over to the sonic screwdriver.

Leaning over, his hand never letting go of hers, the Doctor grinned manically. "Forget about this?" he teased, waggling his favorite 'toy' slightly, and in minutes they were inside and barricading the door.

Not stopping, Rose hooked up her mobile to the control system to start the download. The Doctor had wrenched off a panel and was now on his back under it, long legs sticking out at familiar angles. She crouched down next to him, shoulder pressed tightly to knee, and punched in all the buttons that Mickey had instructed her to.

Even with Jake flying, they'd never have gotten here in time, which had made trying to explain the mess to her dad a bit easier.

"Sonic screwdriver, if you please," came the muffled voice under the control board. She fished it out of his jacket pocket and slid it under to him, almost half-expecting to hear the familiar warm hum and vibration of the TARDIS under her. But it was just cold beeps and blips from a cold machine in a cold station that she could hear.

He slid back out and stared up at her, hair all askew, eyes wide. "How long 'til the virus takes?"

"Five minutes. How long 'til almost-Belgium?"

"A few hours, give or take. Belgium's a bit hard to predict."

Rose blinked, the Doctor blinked back. And then it wasn't so much that one lunged at the other, more like they mutually fell upon each other. It was an uncomfortable position - he was leveraging himself up on one arm and she was twisting her upper torso around her knees - but neither of them cared. It started off as a hug (closecloseclose until they were nearly one) but Rose had waited five and a half years and before he could do anything like protest or hide back under the console, she kissed him.

The Doctor meeped in surprise but he had always fancied himself as a quick study, or so he'd told Rose on more than one occasion. The hand that had wrapped around her shoulders to pull her into the embrace shifted up to her neck as he returned the kiss. With a feeling of glee, Rose's hands found their way into his hair and tangled in the long, messed up strands.

When the soft tendril of feeling brushed against her mind, she jerked her head back, fingers stubbornly refusing to leave off from where they were playing. "What…?" she gasped.

He beamed at her. "The TARDIS just said hello," he informed her. "Hello!"

She blinked back an unexpected wetness. "Hello," Rose whispered back, the smile growing on her face with every second.

His face sobered slightly and the hand on the back of her neck trailed forward, tracing her throat, chin and then up to her forehead. "Rose Tyler," he muttered, leaning forward. Rose stilled as the Doctor pressed a light kiss to her forehead.

There was another brush against her mind but it was unlike the one from the TARDIS - that had been like a single, pure note of song that echoed through her mind. This was a combination of jangled emotions and a single thought of "Rose".

She stilled under his touch, eyes going cross eyed as she stared at his chin. "W-was that you?" Rose squeaked, sounding shocked.

The Doctor pulled back. "If I say yes, will you hit me?" he asked, sounding dubious.

She punched him in the shoulder in response. "You can do that?" Rose demanded. "All those years and you never told me?" She went to smack him again but he stopped her, long fingers curling around her wrist as he gave her a sheepish look.

"Previous me was rubbish at it," the Doctor admitted, pulling them both up to their feet. "Complete and utter rubbish at it. After, it just never came up."

Rose mock scowled at him. "And you never thought that would have come in handy, yeah? Like when we were lost or when…"

He pointed a long finger at her nose and waggled it in front of her face. "You, Miss missy miss, got your knickers all in a twist once upon a time when you found out the TARDIS was in your head, remember?"

She crossed her arms, head tilted and for a frightening second was the spitting image of her mother. "Bit of a shock, that was," she huffed, "but I had time to get over it, you alien sod."

The Doctor tried another tactic. "Rose, it's not like it's something I can just toss around! I need some physical contact..." Her eyes narrowed and he swallowed hard. Looking slightly desperate, he bent his head to silence her with a kiss. It worked right up until he jerked back, eyes wide. "Belgium!"

Cursing, Rose turned and grabbed her mobile. "Done!" she crowed, punching the air in celebration.

The Doctor grimaced. "The Huralions will have realized that this lovely virus of Mickey's just shut down operations," he warned. "They're a race very, very fond of, well ... boom." He spread both hands open wide as the last word popped out of his mouth.

"Fuck, of course they wouldn't be anything else." She hurriedly unhooked the mobile and slipped it into her back pocket. Turning back around, she found herself enveloped once more in the gangly arms of the Doctor. Rose clutched at the back of his suit jacket and buried her head in his shoulder.

"I won't ask you," he told her hair, his voice suspiciously uneven. "I want to but I won't because I told you to live a fantastic life and you have been, oh you really have. So proud of you, Rose my girl --" And for a moment, she thought she could hear a hint of a Northern accent. "Even if you decide to stay here, nothing will ever change that."

That answered any questions or worry that might have been stalking around in one Rose Tyler's brain. He still wanted her, no matter the time or the distance that had been between them, but he was leaving it to her to tell him how it was going to be. She'd known he'd trusted her – with his life, with his TARDIS, even – but this was a new kind of trust and it sent her heart fluttering in her chest.

He gave her that, the least she could do was give him the truth in return. "I don't know," she told his shoulder. "Will Belgium hold off until I think it over?"

She felt him chuckle and then press a kiss into her hair. "Last time you made this decision, it took you less than five minutes," the Doctor teased as they separated, "so, yeah, probably."

Last time had been different and they both knew it. For all that she had missed the Doctor, Rose had built a good, solid, life for herself in this new world. Pete had stepped in as her dad – though it wasn't a complete fit and she was oddly grateful for that – she had a little brother she adored; a job that she was good at; and friends and family who cared about her.

But while it had been good, fantastic even, it had still been missing him. Him, his TARDIS, the traveling.

This time it was going to take her more than five minutes to make up her mind.

Rose jumped a good foot in the air when the door behind her rattled as something big, heavy and, knowing her luck with aliens, very ugly and angry, slammed itself against it. She frowned. "First off, let's get out of here, yeah?"

"Best idea I've heard all day!" the Doctor beamed.

"Well...?"

"Well, what?"

She spread her hands wide and then sighed. "I was goin' ta ask how we get out of this mess but you've got that 'Rose, this is the only way' expression 'bout you again."

He waggled his eyebrows at her. "Can't go out the front door and there is no back door," he stated, striving for solemn but completely losing the effect he was going for, "so the only way to go is..."

"Up," she groaned, filling it in for him.

She tipped her head back and studied the large vent in the corner of the corner of the room. It just sat there, looking completely innocent; but Rose knew better than that, oh yes she did. It could be hiding any number of things she didn't want to run across. Angry aliens, terrified science types that tended to freak out first and ask questions later, spiders...really ugly spiders. Really ugly spiders with bite-y bits.

Perhaps, god forbid, even really angry, terrified, ugly spiders with bite-y bits. After all, angry, ugly, scientific spiders was just silly - wrong planet to come across something like that.

Shoulders slumping, she followed the Doctor over and watched as he deftly unlatched it from the wall with his sonic screwdriver. They stared at each other, mouths twitching slightly despite the inherent danger right behind them.

Just like old times, Rose thought with a surge of glee as the Doctor helped her clamber into the ventilation shaft.

~~

Ten minutes and two pairs of sore knees and elbows later, Rose forced a halt. "We're lost, aren't we?" she hissed at the Doctor over her shoulder, eyes narrowed in irritation.

"We're not lost!" he responded, voice lowered as well. They had made that mistake before and it had alerted the aliens to their position. They'd managed to get away without a scratch – well, that was, without a scratch to themselves. Where there had been once been some very nice material, there was now a jagged, burnt hole in the Doctor's long coat. He was still sulking.

"Then where are we?" When he didn't answer, she sighed. "For a Time Lord, your sense of direction is just rotten."

When there was even more silence, she sent another glare over her shoulder though this one didn't have as much weight behind it as the first one. "And stop checkin' out my bum," she told him.

He grinned.

She shot him a rude gesture over her shoulder.

"We're not lost," he repeated, pointing to the next turn. "One more left, then the second star on the right and then straight on till..."

"That," Rose interrupted mildly, "is from Peter Pan."

The Doctor blinked. "So it is. Still, good advice. Left, straight until we get to the second right and we'll find Donna where I left her. Hopefully," he muttered.

"Where's she at?" Rose asked as they started up again.

"Oh, you know, somewhere nice and cozy. Very safe, very secure."

"You left her in a storage cupboard, didn't you?"

He sniffed and Rose sped up.


	2. Rose, Donna.  Donna, Rose.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donna's stuck in a closet and she's not happy about it.

Donna had tried everything to get the door open but the Doctor had done something fancy with that fancy spaceman stick of his. She'd passed the time, then, in rearranging the contents of the room to better suit her fancy.  
  
One pile consisted of cleaning supplies because, as she had learned on Oxxomia 5, one should always have cleaning supplies on hand. Never know when you'd run into an alien that was allergic to the stuff – or a potential date, for that matter.  
  
Another pile had potential weapons, just in case one of those Huralions decided to break down the door. Though she couldn't figure out for the life of her why they would even bother. She was in a caretaker's cupboard, after all, nothing of interest there.  
  
Unless you found one highly ticked off Earth woman to be something of interest.  
  
The last pile was full of things she was going to beat the Doctor about the head with once he returned from his...well, whatever he'd run off to do. He'd gotten a weird look on his face after nearly being shot at, said something about being rescued by a blonde and then he'd locked her up.  
  
Donna scowled and added a broom with a thick handle to the third pile.  
  
She froze as the sound of voices – not from the other side of the door like she'd expected but coming from the vent on the far side of the wall. One of them sounded like the Doctor but why would he come through the vent of all places? She didn't know what these aliens were capable of and maybe they were trying to trick her...  
  
Squaring her shoulders, Donna scooped up the broom in two hands and waited.  
  
The wait wasn't a very long one as the vent cover was suddenly popped off. Two voices wafted out, one sounding like the Doctor but she couldn't place the other one. They were bickering, though, which was more of the Doctor's style but Donna didn't let her guard down.  
  
A pair of legs dressed in well-worn jeans popped out and they certainly didn't belong to the Doctor. Female from the looks of it. "Nice boots," Donna called out, still gripping the broom handle tightly in both hands.  
  
There was a pause as the girl stopped wiggling for a moment, one leg rising up as if she were trying to look down at them. "Thanks," came the muffled reply, "got 'em on sale."  
  
Donna perked up slightly. "Where at?"  
  
"Harrods," the mystery girl said, grunting as her legs flailed a bit. "Oi, stop pushin', 'm a bit stuck."  
  
The Doctor's voice carried out now, sounding slightly put out, "Now that you two are done talking shoes, Donna, could you care to lend a hand?"  
  
"How do I know that's you, then?" Donna answered, scoffing. "For all I know, Spaceman, you went and got yourself copied and your double ended up in the vent." If that was the Doctor, she could just see his face turning that fantastic color it got when he got all out of sorts. She grinned, cheering up at the very thought.  
  
"Oh for the love of Rasslion," he grumbled, "it's me, I swear! Honestly, you get replaced one time...fine, Donna. The last planet we were on, you forced me to go see that awful play, remember? And at the end, you were pulled up on stage and nearly forced..."  
  
"Hello, Doctor!" Donna said hastily, leaning the broom against the wall before going over to where the legs stuck out.  
  
"Hello, Donna!"  
  
"Well who's this, then?" Donna asked, poking at the knee curiously.  
  
"Donna, Rose. Rose, Donna."  
  
Rose's knee waggled hello at her.  
  
Donna blinked. There was only one Rose whom the Doctor would probably drag through ventilation shafts without her killing him (personally, she would have stuffed his body in the floorboards before going through that, herself) but that was impossible, wasn't it? But she'd get the who, the where and the why out of him later even if she had to hide his trainers again.  
  
Getting a good grip on Rose's legs, she braced herself and pulled as hard as she could while Rose shoved from the inside. She popped out with almost no trouble after that except that the angle she'd been in, and the grip Donna had had on her legs, meant they found themselves in an untidy heap on the floor.  
  
Rose groaned and rolled over as Donna sat up, rubbing her ribs. The former and current companions stared at each other as the Doctor twisted his long limbs through the opening, flailing slightly in his haste to get out.  
  
"So, he locked you in the closet, then?" Rose finally asked after they'd both had their fill of eying each other. "How long?"  
  
Donna huffed. "Been nearly a ruddy hour now!" she said, gaze turning to glare at the Doctor as his shoulder and head finally appeared.  
  
"Nearly an hour? Were you goin' ta use that broom over there on him, then?"  
  
They shared another look and Donna suddenly grinned as she scrambled back up to her feet. The Doctor was flush against the wall, holding his hands up as his eyes widened in panic. "No time!" he squeaked, flailing as Donna grabbed for the broom. "Important sonic screwdrivering to do!"  
  
When Donna turned back, she started to laugh as she saw Rose's hand dig deep into one of the pockets and pull out the sonic screwdriver. "Ta, no worries," the other woman said, tongue peeking out to touch the corner of her mouth. "I'll handle that. Donna...?"  
  
Oh yes, she was going to like this Rose Tyler...  
  
~~  
  
"You parked close, then?" Rose asked, a hand reaching up to pet the TARDIS key that hung under her shirt. In all the excitement, she hadn't even noticed that it had gone from warm-ish to very warm and the closer they got, the more she felt it.  
  
"Yep," the Doctor said, popping his p, as they jogged down the corridor. He was still rubbing the back of his head and shooting Donna dirty looks when he didn't think she noticed. "Won't be long now."  
  
Donna groaned. "He always says that," she said to Rose, shaking her head. "Which means we'll be in a spot of trouble in no time."  
  
He went to protest when Rose stopped short and he nearly walked right into her back, flailing slightly to keep his balance. She put up a hand and mimed being quiet before pointing around the corner. They all peered around and Donna shot the Doctor a dirty look when she spotted the guards surrounding the TARDIS.  
  
Moving back, Rose quietly asked, "Now that they can't get their claws--" Those were definitely claws she'd seen. "--on the technology here, what're they likely to do?"  
  
The Doctor scratched the back of his neck and gave it a thought. "Blow the place up, most likely. Which means we'll have to divert to find the explosions, stop the aliens and...Rose, what are you doing?"  
  
"Hold on a sec," she said, holding up a finger as she hit the speed dial on her mobile. "Dad? I'm fine, completely in one piece.  No, really, honest. Listen, are all of the personnel accounted for? What were we planning on doin' with this place, anyway? Uh huh..."  She turned and trotted off down another corridor with the other two trailing in confusion in her wake. "Yup, got the mobile, I can do that. I'm fine dad, really, not a scratch on me." She grinned. "I didn't say I hadn't been shot at, jus' that I'm fine."  
  
Despite some protesting on Pete's part, she finally managed to hang up on him and, after a second’s thought, turned the mobile off because she knew he'd be calling back. "Right then," she called softly over her shoulder as they followed her into a room, "I've got a plan."  
  
"Is it a cunning plan?"  
  
She giggled. "It's as cunning as a fox what used to be Professor of Cunning at Oxford University but has moved on and is now working for the U.N. at the High Commission of International Cunning Planning."  
  
The Doctor beamed back. "That is cunning. Come on then, Rose Tyler, tell us this cunning plan."  
  
Rose answered while she set up the mobile in the same way as before when she'd been preparing to dump a virus into the midst of the lab. "I'm goin' ta let them blow it up."  
  
"Excuse me?" Donna asked, staring at her. "Isn't that kind of what you want to prevent?"  
  
Glancing up, she found the Doctor staring down at her, hands in his pockets, with a blank look on his face. She took a deep breath and forged ahead, trying not to think about the fact that she'd never wanted to be the cause of that particular look on his face. Again. "Not really. See, this place was gonna be scraped – too dangerous, yeah?" She paused to concentrate on punching buttons on the mobile and then continued. "All the staff, military and civilian, have fled already; we've a headcount and everyone's been accounted for."  
  
"What about the data stored here?" the Doctor asked quietly.  
  
Rose waggled the mobile at him. "It's the superphone you made me," she explained. "Did a bit of jiggery pokery a few years back..."  
  
"Thought you failed at hullabaloo, then?"  
  
Something in her chest eased at the faint teasing tone in his otherwise stern voice. She smirked back up at him. "Got certified for it along with my A levels. Top of my class even."  
  
His eyes warmed. "I just bet."  
  
Donna coughed and Rose turned back to her. "I'm downloadin' all the information from the computers here. After that, nothin' will be important and if they want to blow it up, well, who am I, then, to get in the way of a little alien fun? 'Sides, it'll save Torchwood a good bit of quid, that will. Make dad happy."  
  
Now they were both staring at her but this time she ignored it. That hadn't been Rose Tyler, former shop girl and companion to the Doctor talking. That had been Rose Tyler, five year employee of Torchwood and Defender of Earth. At heart they were the same person but she'd grown, changed, and in some cases, hardened a little bit.  
  
There was movement next to her as the Doctor hunkered down, long arms laid across his knees as he eyed the mobile. Wordlessly, Rose handed it over and suddenly his specs were on his nose as he peered closely at it. "It'll take 'bout ten minutes," she offered and he gave her a manic grin as he produced the sonic screwdriver.  
  
"Remember? I came first in jiggery pokery, my young padawan. Sit back and be amazed."  
  
~~  
  
"You think you're so impressive," Donna and Rose sighed five minutes later.  
  
"I am so impressive!" he protested.  
  
They giggled.  
  
"Right, you two," the Doctor said sternly, ignoring the fact that, once again, he had two companions laughing at him. "We need to get out of here and to the TARDIS – and I know just how to do it."  
  
~~  
  
Rose nearly broke her neck as she dove through the doors of the TARDIS, with Donna’s weight slamming into her from behind causing both of them to end up, once more, in a heap on the floor. But she didn't care, she didn't, really...she gulped in air into her abused lungs as she rested her cheek on the grating.  
  
She was dimly aware of Donna scrambling to her feet and berating the Doctor –  
  
"You call that a plan, Mars boy? Running through the guards, screamin' like a bunch of loonies?"  
  
"It worked, didn't...ow! You've gotten very violent as of late, you know."  
  
\- but the majority of her was focused on the ship itself. Golden light swam just outside of her field of vision for a moment as her mind was filled with that clear, precise singing.  She was tingling from the tip of her head down to the bottom of her feet and she shuddered as the overwhelming sensations started to fade again.  
  
"Rose?" Hands gently rolled her over onto her back and she blinked back the tears. The Doctor's worried face appeared above her and she waved him off.  
  
"The TARDIS was just saying hello," she reassured him, brushing away the tears that leaked down her cheeks.  
  
Another face appeared now, over the Doctor's shoulders, and Donna was giving her a good look over. "Tea," she said firmly. "Tea and some of those funny little biscuits we picked up on Trella a while back, yeah?" Nodding to herself, she straightened before heading off and Rose watched her legs until they disappeared.  
  
"She has very nice taste in shoes."  
  
"She's absolutely mental," the Doctor said solemnly as he firmly grabbed her wrists and pulled her back up to her feet. He didn't let go, simply slide his hands from her wrists, up her arms and then around her shoulders, pulling her tightly against him.  
  
If he squeezed her any tighter, she was going to be absorbed straight into him but she didn't care. She fisted her hands in the back of his long coat and breathed in his scent, shuddering with all the emotions that were coming loose now that most of the danger was over with.  
  
When he pulled back, the Doctor simply tucked her under one arm and led her up to the column. "Have to get away before everything goes boom," he said cheerfully, letting go fully so he could start spinning, smacking and generally preparing the TARDIS for flight. "Where to?"  
  
She almost said 'home' but she paused – she'd moved out of Pete's place ages ago into a tiny little flat that she could call her own. "Mum and dad's," she settled on after a second’s thought.  
  
He looked up at her, the question clear on her face and she gave him a sad smile. "Proper goodbye this time, all right?"  
  
"Yeah," he said, reaching for her hand, wiggling his fingers towards her, "proper goodbye, I promise."  
  
~~  
  
The Doctor sprawled, nearly bonelessly, in the console chair, feet propped up on the controls in front of him.  Belgium had been averted and the TARDIS was now safely back on the correct side of the Void.  He'd been privileged to see one of the scariest sights in the world - Donna Noble and Jackie Tyler nattering away like best mates.  That was after, of course, Jackie had slapped him and then kissed him in less than ten seconds after the TARDIS had landed.  He scowled in memory and thought that he preferred the first reaction.  
  
He hadn't been able to actually see Mickey - despite the fact that the lab had been blown up, Jack and Mickey had still been tasked with clean up, rounding up any aliens who might have been wandering about - but he managed a few quick words when Rose had gotten in touch with the lads.  It was a bit of a shame but unavoidable since it had been getting closer to the end and he'd been forced to leave.  He rubbed his face as he slid further down in the chair, staring glumly at his shoes as he wiggled his toes slightly.  
  
It was going to take some time to process, even for him, he realized.  Donna had gone off to bed ages ago, claiming the need for sleep but he knew better.  She was offering up some space, some quiet, some time for him to think through all the thoughts in his head.  Like kissing Rose, and how those scientists had managed to work out how to open the Void once more - granted, they'd mucked it up something fierce but perhaps with the information Pete had given him...  
  
"Why are we always out of milk?"  
  
The Doctor poked his head up so he could peer over the back of the chair and he grinned wildly.  Rose stood in the doorway to the console room, arms crossed loosely under her chest and dressed in some of the jimjams that had still been in her room before she left (he'd refused to move anything and the TARDIS had simply kept any dust from gathering in the silent room).  She looked tired and her hair was damp and stringy from a recent shower but to him, she'd never looked better.  
  
She was looking amused now as he scrambled out of his chair and crossed over to her.  "Rose rose rosey rose," he said, still grinning like a loon.  After everything, she'd picked him and he had known that hadn't been an easy decision to make.  Which was why he was going to turn that data Pete had slipped to him on its ear to see if he couldn't find a better way of doing it.  It was the least he could do, since she'd left everything - again but for good this time - to come back with him.  
  
In the end, it wouldn’t matter if it worked or not.  It would just mattered that he tried.  
  
Rose giggled and stepped into the hug he was offering, resting her head against his shoulder.  "Where we off to then?" she asked, stifling a yawn into his suit jacket.  
  
He mocked scowled at her.  "First, bed.  You silly humans, tiring so easily..."  He easily dodged the quick poke toward his ribs and tightened his arms around her.  His excuse was to stop her from trying to tickle him but it was such a false front and they both knew it.  "If you're good," he tried again, "we'll make a stop by Cardiff when you and Donna finally rouse yourselves."  
  
"Cardiff?" Rose asked, wrinkling her nose at him.  "What's in Cardiff?"  
  
If possible, the Doctor's grin got even wider.  "Oh, you'll see..." he said before dipping his head in for a kiss, simply because he could.  
  
Jack was going to keel over right on the spot when he brought her out of the TARDIS and that alone was going to be worth the trip.


End file.
